The Michigan State Civil Rights Commission
issues a report on nicknames, logos and
mascots depicting Native American people in Michigan education institutions.

Minnesota State Board of Education adopts a resolution stating that "[t]he use
of mascots, emblems, or symbols depicting American Indian culture or race (is)
unacceptable" and encourages all districts to immediately proceed to remove such
mascots, etc.

Public Schools in Wisconsin begin to change
their American Indian related sports team logos, mascots and nicknames. As of 1998, 21 schools, almost one-third of the total using such icons, had
changed so far.

Siena College in Loudonville, New York, drops its "Indians"
nickname to become the "Saints."

Saint Mary's College (MN) changes its nickname from
"Red Men" to the "Cardinals."

1989

Charlene
Teters, a Native American graduate student
attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, initiates efforts to eliminate
that school's "Chief Illiniwek" mascot. See 1997 for more info about this
woman's important work.

1991

The Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs
requests 27 public schools in that state to end their use of American Indian mascots and
nicknames.

The National Education Association (NEA), the
largest democratic education organization of its kind in the world, passes resolutionsin two consecutive years
(1991/92) denouncing the use of ethnic related sports team mascots, symbols and nicknames.

Eastern Michigan University changes its
"Huron" nickname and logos to the "Eagles."

Advocates protest at the Minneapolis
Metrodome where Superbowl XXVI found the Buffalo Bills pitted against the
Washington Reds****.

1992

The Portland Oregonian announces it will no
longer use the word "Redsk*ns" and several other American Indian related terms
in print. Radio stations WASH and WTOP in Washington, D.C. also adopt similar policies.

Despite a lawsuit and more than 2,000 signatures
signed in protest, Naperville Central High School (IL) switches its nickname from the
"Redsk*ns" to the "Redhawks."

Grand Forks Central High School (ND) changes its
sports teams' nickname from "Redsk*ns" to "Knights."

1993

National Congress of American Indians issues a
resolution which "denounces the use of any American Indian name or artifice
associated with team mascots." Resolution #MID-GB-58

Arvada High School, near Denver, Colorado,
drops its "Redsk*ns" sports team nickname.

1994

The State of Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction issues directive "strongly urging" all Wisconsin schools using
American Indian related mascots to discontinue such uses.

Enumclaw Junior High School (WA) dropped its
"Chieftain" mascot.

Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York,
exchanged it's "Warriors" nickname for "Hawks."

As a show of appreciation for having changed
its "Indian" mascot, Park High school in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, is
awarded $10,000 by the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Prior to the 1994-95 season Marquette
University retired its "Warriors" nickname in favor of "Golden
Eagles."

1995

St. John's, the largest Catholic university in
America, drops its "Redmen" nickname in favor of "Redstorm."

1996

University
of Tennessee at Chattanooga discontinues the
use of its "Chief Moccanooga" mascot. The following year the
teams' "Moccasins" nickname was shorted to "Mocs" in
reference to Tennessee's state bird, the Mockingbird.

Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California,
changed its mascot from "Indians" to "Firebirds"

Students at Hortonville, Wisconsin, adopt a
non-recognition policy stating their school will not use cheers, names, etc., related to
"Indian" sports team tokens employed by opposing teams.

1997

Jay Rosenstein's documentary "In Whose Honor"
is
aired nationally on the Public Broadcasting System TV show "Point of View."
" Mr. Rosenstein's film highlights Charlene Teters'
efforts to eliminate the "Chief Illiniwek" mascot used by the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Kansas Association for Native American Education
(KANAE) issues a resolution that "...calls for the
elimination of use of American Indian mascots and logos in all public and private schools
in the State of Kansas..."

The American Jewish Committee approves a statement on team names which notes it
"deplores and opposes the use of racial or ethnic stereotypes in the names or titles
of business, professional, sport or their public entitles when the affected group has not
chosen the name itself."

Oregon's
Chemeketa Community
College drops its "Chiefs" nickname and selects
"Storm" for its new one. Since the 1970s, twenty high schools in Oregon
have also changed their "Indian" related nicknames and mascots.

Following a complaint made by the
program manager for American Indian Education, 10 public
schools in Dallas, Texas, make plans to retire their respective "Indian"
mascots by the end of the 1998-99 school year.

Oklahoma City
University, a college affiliated with the United
Methodist Church, decides to replace its "Chiefs" nickname dating back to 1944.

Morningside College of Sioux
City, Iowa, changes its nickname from the "Maroon Chiefs" to the
Mustangs.

1999

The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal
Council, a consortium of twelve federally recognized
Indian tribes, issues a resolution calling for the end
of "the use of depictions of and cultural references to American Indians as
mascots, logos, and team nicknames in Wisconsin public schools."

Erwin
High school in Asheville, NC is investigated for discrimination by the
United States Department of Justicebecause of its
"Indian" related nicknames and mascot.

A panel in Utah decides that the word "Redsk*n" is derogatory term and forbids its
use on motor vehicle license plates.

A
landmark victory concludes a legal battle begun in 1992
as a three-judge panel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rules that the term
"Redsk*n" is a term disparaging to Native Americans and tends to bring them
"into contempt or disrepute." The decision has the potential to
strip the Washington NFL team of trademark protections.

Millard South High in Omaha, Nebraska,
one of the largest schools in the state, graciously decides to change its
"Indians" spirit symbol.

Following the lead of its
Champaign-Urbana branch, the National Associaton for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) unanimously approves a second mascot resolution.

Detailing a number of important points
and concerns, The Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs issues a mascot
resolution.

Appalled by the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana's use of a stereotypic
"Indian" mascot the prestigious
Society for the Study of the Indigenous
Languages of the Americas offers a formal position on
Illiniwek.

TheU.S. Census Bureau adopts
a policy on non-use of Athletic Teams with American Indian or Alaska
Native Names in Promoting Census 2000

In a poll conducted by the
National Spectator's Association, 60%
of respondents indicate they want the "Wahoo" logo of the
Cleveland Major League Baseball team to be changed.

Research conducted by a college
professor debunks
the myth that the Cleveland MLB team was named in "honor"
of Louis Sockalexis, one of the first Native Americans to play for that
club.

Rickards High in Florida
wisely decides to retire its 40 year old "Reds****"
nickname.

Oklahoma City University finalizes
plans to change its "Chiefs" nickname to "Stars"

ESPN airs a special program on
Native Americans in sports and which contains a
segment on the mascot issue. Follow-up coverage included an
insightful online chat
session with leading advocate, Suzan Shown Harjo.

Seattle University, a Jesuit school in
Washington State, completes
its transition from the "Chieftains" to the "Redhawks."

Frontier High School in Deerfield,
Massachusetts, changes it "Reds****" nickname.

Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois,
retires its "Indians" nickname.

Onteora High School in Boiceville, New York,
retires its "Indians" nickname and other related practices only to see
reactionary school board candidates win seats and reinstate the school's
"Indian" sports team token. The district is believed to be the
first in the country to rescind an anti-discrimination policy in order to keep
its racial icon.

Hiawatha, Kansas, retires the
"Reds****" nickname from all schools in its district.

The Canajoharie school district in New York
state retires use of the "red****s"
nickname.

Saranac Lake, New York, retires the
"Reds****" nickname from all schools in its district.

Finally taking action on an appeal that
was filed five years earlier, the New York State Education
Department calls for the retirement of institutionalized "Indian"
sports team nicknames, mascots, and logos from its public schools.

The school board for Penfield High School,
near Rochester, NY, displays a healing gesture and votes 7-0 to retire the school's "Chiefs" sports
team token.

Sagamore Hills Elementary school in Atlanta,
Georgia, decides it will no longer use a "Chiefs" mascot and prepares
to consider alternative ways of showing support for that city's MLB team besides
school-wide "tomahawk chops" and war chants.

By the unanimous vote of its school board,
Afton, NY, public schools exhibits good judgment and retired its "Indians" mascot.

In an action that removes all doubt about the
seriousness of concerns surrounding the use of "Indian" sports team
tokens, The United States Commission on Civil Rights issues a position
statement calling for educational institutions to avoid use of such ethnic
nicknames and mascots.

Parsipanny High School in Parsipanny, NJ,
exhibits courageous vision by retiring
its racial slur "reds****" nickname.

Following its President's recommendation,
along with support from coaches and student government leaders, Southwestern
College in Chula Vista, California, wisely elects to change
its "Apaches" mascot to "Jaguars."

The Bell-Chatham board of education in
Illinois votes in favor of retiring the "Reds****" and
"Braves" nicknames used by its schools.

Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby,
Illinois, retires its "Apaches" nickname and provides a good example
that the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and other institutions using
"Indian" sports team tokens would do well to follow.

Advocates from across the country convene at
the Northern Plains Conference on American Indian Team Names and Logos held at
the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

The Minnesota Indian Education Associationadopts a resolution in opposition
to the University of North Dakota's use of the "Fighting Sioux" name
and logo.

Irondequoit High School, near Rochester, New
York, makes plans to replace its "Indians" nickname.

The Modern Language Association passes a resolution
on mascots and symbols. The MLA includes over 30,000
members in the fields of English, foreign languages, and linguistics.

Stating the district will not use any
mascot that reflects any identifiable group by age, race, color, gender,
religion or national origin, the District 87 school board voted to retire
Bloomington High School's (Illinois) American Indian mascot. BHS kept the
Purple Raiders nickname.

American Counseling Association
passed a resolution that encouraged "its members to work toward elimination of stereotypical Native American images in institutions where they are employed."

The Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs
approve "a Resolution in Support of The Elimination of the Use of American Indian Descriptions of Mascots, Logos and Sports Team Nicknames for Maryland Public Schools and Institutions of Higher Education."

In its 2000-2001 session, the National Education Association
passed a resolution
which reaffirmed its 1991/92 Resolutions denouncing the use of ethnic related mascots,
nicknames and symbols. The National Education
Association (NEA), is the largest democratic education organization of its kind in the
world.

2002

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission passed a Resolution
Opposing the Use of Native American Images, Mascots, and Team Names in Iowa

The Durham (North Carolina) franchise in the
summer collegiate Coastal Plain League changed its nickname from Braves to
Americans.

34 presidents of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Board unanimously adopted
a resolution against discriminatory logos, names, mascots and nicknames

West High School in Oshkosh Wisconsin retired
its "Indian" themed mascot.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts decided
its sports teams will no longer be known as Mohawks.

Southeastern Community College, in West
Burlington, Iowa, makes a smart and painless change by dropping the
"Indian" association to its "Blackhawk" nickname and
changing it to reflect a bird of prey, the "Black Hawks."

Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tennessee, changed its sports team nickname from "Indians" to "Redhawks"

June - The
Michigan State Board of Education passes a resolution that "supports
and strongly recommends the elimination of American Indian mascots, nicknames,
logos, fight songs, insignias, antics, and team descriptors by all Michigan
schools."

Reference note: Although most entries to
this chronology are original a debt of gratitude is owed to The Native American
Almanac: A Portrait of Native America Today, by Arlene Hirshfelder and Martha Kripe de
Montano ( Prentice Hall, 1993) from which several of the events listed here were also
drawn.

1 While accuracy
is an important aim of this page a few minor discrepancies may be present. If
such inconsistencies do appear they are infrequent and do not significantly affect the
substantive quality of the chronology. Comments or items to be considered for
inclusion in this chronology may be sent to maxtotal@yahoo.com